States and Capitals of India: Complete List of 28 States and 8 UTs 2024

India is a big country with many different parts. After India became independent in 1947, it was divided into states and union territories. Now, India has 28 states and 8 union territories. Each part of India has its own culture and identity.

The states were made in different ways. In 1956, there was a big change where states were organized based on the language spoken there. This led to the creation of new states and capitals. Over time, more changes were made to the states, reflecting the needs and wishes of the people.

This article talks about all the states and capitals of India. It explains how they were formed and why they are important. It also talks about the new states that were created after independence. Additionally, it discusses the union territories, which are directly controlled by the central government.

In simple words, this article helps you understand all about the different parts of India – its states, capitals, and union territories. It tells you their history and why they are special.

 

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Largest States in India by Area and Population 2024 | Comprehensive Rankings and Insights

State and Capitals of India

By area India is the 7th largest country in the world. This was Country is divided into multiple states and union territories that brings something unique at the table and makes India India. Today in this  article we’ll discuss States and Capitals of India. Along with it we have also discussed all those States who were formed after the independence of the nation. In 1956 there was a major reshuffling when states were organised as per the language. The State reorganisation act of 1956 made lots of new states and capitals in India. Apart from this we have also discussed Union Territories and capitals of India. Let’s have a look at it.

List of Indian States and Capitals

When India became independent ,there weren’t many States , however as we evolved and grew , India became a nation of 28 states and 8 Union Territories. Single one of them having their own culture and different identities. Below is the list of all the States in India and their capitals.

S.NO	State	Capital	CM	Governor
1	Andhra Pradesh	Amaravati	YS Jagan Mohan Reddy	Biswa Bhusan Harichandan
2	Arunachal Pradesh	Itanagar	Pema Khandu	B. D. Mishra
3	Assam	Dispur	Himanta Biswa Sarma	Jagdish Mukhi
4	Bihar	Patna	Nitish Kumar	Phagu Chauhan
5	Chhattisgarh	Raipur	Vishnu Deo Sai	Sushri Anusuiya Uikey
6	Goa	Panaji	Pramod Sawant	P.S. Sreedharan Pillai
7	Gujarat	Gandhinagar	Bhupendra Patel	Acharya Dev Vrat
8	Haryana	Chandigarh	Nayab Singh Saini	Bandaru Dattatraya
9	Himachal Pradesh	Shimla	Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu	Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar
10	Jharkhand	Ranchi	Champai Soren	Ramesh Bais
11	Karnataka	Bengaluru	Siddaramaiah	Thaawarchand Gehlot
12	Kerala	Thiruvananthapuram	Pinarayi Vijayan	Arif Mohammed Khan
13	Madhya Pradesh	Bhopal	Mohan Yadav	Mangubhai Chhaganbhai Patel
14	Maharashtra	Mumbai	Eknath Shinde	Ramesh Bais
15	Manipur	Imphal	N. Biren Singh	La. Ganesan
16	Meghalaya	Shillong	Conrad Kongkal Sangma	Brig. (Dr.) B. D. Mishra
17	Mizoram	Aizawl	Lalduhoma	Kambhampati Haribabu
18	Nagaland	Kohima	Neiphiu Rio	Jagdish Mukhi
19	Odisha	Bhubaneswar	Naveen Patnaik	Ganeshi Lal
20	Punjab	Chandigarh	Bhagwant Singh Mann	Banwarilal Purohit
21	Rajasthan	Jaipur	Bhajan Lal Sharma	Kalraj Mishra
22	Sikkim	Gangtok	PS Golay	Ganga Prasad
23	Tamil Nadu	Chennai	M. K. Stalin	R. N. Ravi
24	Telangana	Hyderabad	Anumula Revanth Reddy	Tamilisai Soundararajan
25	Tripura	Agartala	Dr. Manik Saha	Satyadeo Narain Arya
26	Uttar Pradesh	Lucknow	Yogi Aditya Nath	Anandiben Patel
27	Uttarakhand	Dehradun	Pushkar Singh Dhami	Lt. Gen. Gurmit Singh
28	West Bengal	Kolkata	Mamata Banerjee	Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose

Indian Union Territories and Capitals

Apart from 28 States there are 8 union territories in India. Union territories are  controlled directly by Central government through Lt. Governor. Out of eight Union Territories only two  Union Territories have legislative assembly and Chief ministers which are New Delhi and Puducherry. Below is the list of all eight Union Territories along with their capitals

S.NO	Union Territories	Capital	CM	Lt. Governor
1	Andaman and Nicobar Island	Port Blair	NA	D K Joshi
2	Chandigarh	Chandigarh	NA	Banwarilal Purohit
3	Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	Daman	NA	Praful Patel
4	Delhi	Delhi	Arvind Kejriwal	Vinai Kumar Saxena
5	Ladakh	NA	NA	Radha Krishna Mathur
6	Lakshadweep	Kavaratti	NA	Praful Patel
7	Jammu and Kashmir	NA	NA	Manoj Sinha
8	Puducherry	Pondicherry	N. Rangaswamy	Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan

 

 

List of States formed after  1947,  in Independent India

 

Overview Table:-

Here is an overview table listing the states formed after 1947 in independent India:

State	Year Formed	Details
Jammu and Kashmir	1948	Merged into the Indian Union after signing the Instrument of Accession; Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir became separate union territories in 2019.
Uttar Pradesh	1950	Formerly known as United Province, it was reorganized and renamed Uttar Pradesh in 1950.
Bihar	1950	Formed as a full state on 26 January 1950; Jharkhand was later carved out from Bihar in 2000.
Assam	1950	Gained state status on 26 January 1950; reorganized from a British province to a full state.
Orissa (Odisha)	1950	Made a separate province on 1 April 1936 and became a state on 26 January 1950; renamed Odisha in 2011.
Tamil Nadu	1950	Formerly Madras Presidency; reorganized as a state in 1950 and renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.
Andhra Pradesh	1956	Formerly part of Madras State; became a separate state on 1 November 1956; Telangana was carved out of it in 2014.
Madhya Pradesh	1956	Formed on 1 November 1956; Chhattisgarh was separated from it in 2000.
Kerala	1956	Merged former states of Travancore, Cochin, and Malabar to form Kerala on 1 November 1956.
Karnataka	1956	Originally Mysore State; renamed Karnataka in 1973; formed on 1 November 1956.
Maharashtra	1960	Formed along with Gujarat from Bombay Province on 1 May 1960.
Gujarat	1960	Separated from Bombay Presidency and formed as an independent state on 1 May 1960.
Nagaland	1963	Became a state on 1 December 1963, separated from Assam.
Punjab	1966	Formed after the merger of Patiala and other princely states; Haryana was separated from it in 1966.
Himachal Pradesh	1971	Formed on 25 January 1971; initially a union territory, it gained statehood later.
Manipur	1972	Became a state on 21 January 1972 after being a union territory since 1956.
Meghalaya	1972	Originally an autonomous state within Assam; became a separate state on 21 January 1972.
Tripura	1972	Transitioned from a union territory to a state on 21 January 1972.
Sikkim	1975	Merged with the Indian Union on 16 May 1975, becoming a full state.
Goa	1987	Liberated from Portuguese rule in 1961, became a union territory; formed as a state on 30 May 1987.
Arunachal Pradesh	1987	Initially a union territory in 1972, became a state in 1987.
Mizoram	1987	Declared a full state on 20 February 1987, after being a district of Assam and later a union territory.
Chhattisgarh	2000	Separated from Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 2000.
Jharkhand	2000	Formed from Bihar on 15 November 2000.
Uttarakhand	2000	Initially named Uttaranchal; formed from districts of Uttar Pradesh; renamed Uttarakhand in 2007.
Telangana	2014	Formed on 2 June 2014 from the north-western part of Andhra Pradesh.

 

When Britishers left India divided into two and lots of different princely states. The Indian government had a job to bring all these States in the nation to maintain the country’s true form. Instrument of Accession was used for it. However after the formation of India, there were lots of changes which led to formation of lots of new states and changes in the boundaries of states. Below is the list of all the states that were formed after 15 August 1947.

 

1.  Jammu and Kashmir (1948): The king of this state signed the “Instrument of Accession” to India and became part of the Indian Union. In 1956, Jammu and Kashmir completed the process of merger with the Indian Union.  Currently this state has been divided and since August 2019, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir have become separate union territories.
2.  Uttar Pradesh (1950): This state is popular as the land of a powerful empire. Before Uttar Pradesh was formed in 1950, it was known as United Province, which was united by combining the Awadh and Agra regions.
3. Bihar (1950): This state was formed by the British on 22 March 1912, but it got the status of a full state on 26 January 1950. In 2000 it was further divided and a new state named Jharkhand was created.
4. Assam (1950): Assam became a British protectorate in 1826. Assam was separated from Bengal in 1874. It was reorganised as Assam province under British rule in 1912. Greater Assam included Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram. It got the status of a full state on 26 January 1950.
5. Orissa (1950): On 1 April 1936, Orissa was made a separate province by the British and it became a state in 1950. Its name was changed to Odisha in 2011.
6. Tamil Nadu (1950): The erstwhile Madras Presidency was reorganised as a state in 1950 and renamed Tamil Nadu in 1969.
7. Andhra Pradesh (1956): It was given state status on 1 November 1956. Before becoming a separate state, it was part of Madras State. On June 2, 2014, the north-western part of Andhra Pradesh was separated to form Telangana.
8.  Madhya Pradesh (1956) -It came into existence in 1956. The state is famous for diamond mining in Panna district. It was further divided in 2000 and Chhattisgarh became a new state.
9.  Kerala (1956) : The former states of Travancore, Cochin and Malabar were merged together to form the state of Kerala in 1956. It got the status of a full state on 1 November 1956.
10.  Karnataka (1956) : It was formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956. In 1956, Mysore State was formed by bringing together all the Kannada speaking areas. The state was renamed Karnataka in 1973
11. Maharashtra (1960) : Maharashtra and Gujarat were part of Bombay Province state. On 1 May 1960, the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed as independent states.
12. Gujarat (1960): This state is famous for Asiatic lions. It was part of the Bombay Presidency in British India, but on 1 May 1960, Gujarat was separated and formed as an independent state.
13.  Nagaland (1963) : This state was formed on 1 December 1963. It is separated from Assam.
14. Punjab (1966) : This state was formed after the merger of the princely state of Patiala with eight other similar states. With this merger in 1966, Haryana was separated as an independent state. Chandigarh is the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana.
15.  Himachal Pradesh (1971) : Himachal Pradesh was formed in 1950 with the merger of 30 princely states and was declared a Union Territory in 1956. On 25 January 1971, Himachal Pradesh got the status of a full state.
16.  Manipur (1972) : Manipur became independent with India in 1947. It became a union territory in 1956 and got the status of a full state on 21 January 1972.
17.  Meghalaya (1972) : Meghalaya was formed as an autonomous state within Assam in 1970. It became a separate state on 21 January 1972.
18. Tripura (1972): Surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, Tripura remained a union territory until 1972, later it became an independent state.
19.  Sikkim (1975) : Sikkim state is the second smallest state of India. It is popularly known as the organic state of India. Sikkim merged with the Indian Union on 16 May 1975.
20. Goa (1987) : Even after India’s independence, this state was under the rule of a Portuguese colony, but in 1961 it was liberated by the Indian Army and made a union territory along with Daman and Diu. The state of Goa was formed on 30 May 1987.
21. Arunachal Pradesh (1987) : It became a union territory in 1972 and an independent state of India along with Itanagar in 1987.
22.  Mizoram (1987) : It got state status on 20 February 1987. Initially it was a district of Assam. It was declared a Union Territory in 1972, but the Mizo National Front opposed it and later it got the status of a full state.
23. Chhattisgarh (2000) : This state was separated from a part of Madhya Pradesh on 1 November 2000.
24. Jharkhand (2000) : This tribal dominated state was separated from Bihar and got the status of a full state on 15 November 2000.
25. Uttarakhand (2000) : This state was formed with the name of Uttaranchal by taking some districts of Uttar Pradesh, but in 2007 the name of the state was changed to Uttarakhand.
26. Telangana (2014) : It was the 29th state of India. It has been made taking into account some districts of Andhra Pradesh. It was completely separated on June 2, 2014.

 

So this was the complete list of States and capitals of India. Along with it we have also given you the dates of the formation of these States and the list of Union Territories and capital of India.

 

 

 

FAQs:

1. What are the states of India?
India has 28 states, each with its own capital and government, contributing to the country’s diverse cultural landscape.

2. How many union territories does India have?
India comprises 8 union territories, governed directly by the central government, each with unique characteristics.

3. When did India become independent?
India gained independence from British rule on August 15, 1947, marking the beginning of its journey as a sovereign nation.

4. How were the Indian states formed?
States in India were formed through various historical processes, including linguistic reorganization and territorial restructuring over time.

5. Which state has the most populous capital?
Uttar Pradesh’s capital, Lucknow, is one of the most populous cities in India, serving as the administrative hub of the state.

6. What is the smallest state in India?
Goa, known for its vibrant culture and scenic beauty, is the smallest state in India, located on the western coast.

7. Which union territory has its own legislative assembly?
Delhi and Puducherry are the only union territories in India with their own legislative assemblies and chief ministers.

8. When was the last state formed in India?
Telangana, formed on June 2, 2014, is the most recent addition to India’s list of states, created from the northwestern part of Andhra Pradesh.

9. Which state was formerly known as Mysore?
Karnataka, formerly known as Mysore, was renamed in 1973, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and linguistic diversity.

10. What is the capital of Jammu and Kashmir?
Jammu and Kashmir’s summer capital is Srinagar, while its winter capital is Jammu, reflecting its unique geographical and climatic characteristics.